Kfar Abida archaeological tell added to list of historic monuments

Culture Minister Ghassan Salameh on Tuesday moved to protect a 5,000-year-old archaeological site in the Batroun coastal town of Kfar Abida after a bulldozer damaged part of it over the weekend.

In an official decision, Salameh ordered the site added to Lebanon’s inventory of historic monuments. The measure prohibits “any changes to the land where the site is located, without prior authorization from the Directorate General of Antiquities (DGA) regarding the planned work and the materials that should be used,” the statement said. The ruling applies to plots 741, 743, 744, 745, 748 and 1408 in Kfar Abida.

The ministry said the move followed a DGA report, dated Aug. 25, that outlined findings from excavations at the Fadous tell in KfarA bida. The site, dating back to the Bronze Age around 3,000 BC, “is of great importance for understanding the history of the region and of the coastal Lebanese villages at that time,” the statement added.

The details you (may have) missed

5,000-year-old Kfar Abida archaeological site damaged by bulldozer

The incident occurred Saturday at about 2 p.m., when a bulldozer, brought by the owner of one of the plots, began clearing land for a planned construction project. Within minutes, it inflicted major damage to the top layer of the site before being stopped by the municipality, activists and the DGA. The Culture Ministry has since filed a complaint against the landowner.

“The losses remain inestimable,” said Hermann Genz, an archaeologist at the American University of Beirut who has led excavations at the tell for years. He told L’Orient Today it will take time to assess the extent of the destruction, but that architectural structures at the site’s upper level were likely lost.

On Tuesday, Salameh also met at the National Library with DGA director Sarkis Khoury, his adviser Jad Tabet, Kfar Abida municipal council president Michel Feghali, vice president Issam Fadous and archaeologist Hermann Genz.